When I think
I’ve seen everything in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, there are still new discoveries
to be made.
Why am I drawn
back to the Berkshires? Is it the magical landscape, the history, the literary
legacy of Hawthorne, Melville and Wharton, or the ghosts of people and memories
that seem to inhabit every branch, leaf and stone?
Certainly,
it is the breakfasts, and the welcoming family at the Rookwood Inn in Lenox. I’ve
made an annual autumn visit there for nearly 18 years.
After
breakfast at the Rookwood, there is usually little need of daily bread, but
I’ve recently learned of the Berkshire Mountain Bakery in nearby Housatonic. One
of their signature loaves is known simply as “Bread and Chocolate.” How can I resist a pilgrimage?
I make the
drive past the glittering Stockbridge Bowl, framed by fiery autumn leaves.
For whatever
reason, I’ve spent very little time in Housatonic during my visits to the
Berkshires. Like everything in the Berkshires, it is just moments away.
The Berkshire Mountain Bakery is a large brick structure that sits on the banks of
the Housatonic River and was founded by Richard Bourdon in 1986.
The bakery
practices the ancient art of natural sourdough bread baking and Bourdon studied
fermentation in Holland, where he headed one of the first bakeries there to
revive the craft. The Berkshire Mountain Bakery now offers this ancient
ingenuity daily in the form of delicious artisanal breads.
It is a
stunning autumn morning. The early
sunlight filters through the bakery window, illuminating mounds of rustic
loaves.
I make my
purchase, tuck the loaf of Bread and Chocolate into my backpack and head for my
next destination. The perfect round loaf, studded with chunks of chocolate will
be the ideal lunchtime repast.
I drive some
30 minutes to the trailhead of the Keystone Arches Bridge Trail, near the small
town of Chester, Massachusetts. The hike
follows the Westfield River and the path of the Western Railroad, built in the
1830s. Major George Washington Whistler,
who was the painter Whistler’s father, surveyed the steep area.
While not
immortalized like Whistler’s Mother, the Major was involved in some extraordinary
accomplishments. In its day, the Western
Railroad was the longest and highest railroad in the world.
The series
of Keystone Arch Bridges that supported the now abandoned route, are accessible
by foot, and are a monument of manmade engineering and natural elements.
After an
hour or so of walking, I reach the most spectacular Keystone Arch and carefully
make my way down to the river to observe its grandeur.
Seated on a
rock by the side of the river, I pull the Bread and Chocolate from my pack and
eat chunks by hand, watching the autumn leaves swirl on the water near my feet.
The bread is
sturdy, significant and decadently delicious, much like the magnificent
structure that stands before me.
Bread and
Chocolate and the Keystone Arches – ingenuity at its finest.
©2013 T.W.
Barritt All Rights Reserved
